Firstly, let’s state the obvious that physical newspapers cannot be searched easily, as compared to bookmarking and saving a link online.
Next, even if there were links online to the news articles, it usually ends up in one of two ways:
1) The link expires when it is transferred to their archive section or some similar movement (Ever bookmarked a page to find it’s not there anymore? That’s what happens)
2) They try to make you register with them after the “free access” period has expired. Whether or not they try to charge is another issue, but registering for news which is essentially free, is ridiculous.
With such a poor value proposition (information can’t be found, or is hard to access), is it any wonder we’re turning more and more away from newspapers? Yes, there are some mainstream media news sources that are doing a good job online as well. That’s fine and good, but the industry as a whole doesn’t seem to be getting it’s act together.
Add in the Associated Press threat of legal action against bloggers who wrote about news and linked to them (which incidentally, actually helps the papers), and you just wonder if newspapers and mainstream media are enjoying themselves walking backwards instead of progressing
I’ve been a user of Evernote since 8th December 2008, and I don’t think there’s been a day gone by since then that I haven’t used it either on my desktop, laptop or iPod Touch (they have a version for Windows Mobile too).
The premise of Evernote is simple. It’s your second brain. Everything you need to keep track of, or remember, you key it into Evernote and it’s stored in the “cloud”, which then can be accessed via web, mobile or even the Evernote client that can run straight off your desktop. All of these are synced centrally, so you always have the latest version of your updates when you access your notes.
Evernote comes complete with the ability to recognise words within images, the ability to tag and geotag notes, include photographs and voice, and for the premium (paid) version, to sync the same version of files everywhere, which can be useful for people editing documents on the go.
I first really realised the power of Evernote when I clipped some details of my flight on a whim, and then was at the airport trying to check in, but they couldn’t find my name. My e-ticket had the flight number, full name etc, but not the booking number. Luckily, it was a matter of taking out my iPod Touch, checking the tag that said “flight” and all was solved.
Since then, my Evernote usage has evolved in several different ways:
As a fan of GTD, I have a “tickler” tag in Evernote where I keep track of things I need to pay attention to each day. So I can open up Evernote and know I have a presentation due in 2 weeks. You can read about more about using Evernote and GTD here.
I’m obsessive about keeping track of what money I spend. I used to key it into my phone, but then would have the hassle of switching between my phone screen and my computer screen (where I key expenditures into an Excel sheet). Now, I just key it into my Touch with the tag “todo”, sync it up, and when I open my Excel sheet, it’s right there on the same computer.
I keep an “archive” folder in Evernote, where I put things like Amazon shipping costs (so I don’t have to keep going to Amazon and searching for the shipping page), quotes from books, my Sony service number and other things that might be useful.
I keep track of new books/music/games to check out when I’m at the store, and when I get home it will be on my Evernote so I’m reminded to check out reviews of it to make a purchase decision later
I used to take notes in class and save them as “week 1″, “week 2″ and so on. Now I just open a note with the tag “comm250″ and type everything in there in chronological order, which makes revising so much easier.
Everytime an idea pops into my head, I label it “todo” and key it in. When I start up my computer, the “todo” tags are usually the first things I look at, so it helps me focus.
As you can see, the uses and benefits of Evernote really are like having a second brain, and being able to tap into that literally anywhere. I’m rarely in the situation where something important flashes into my head, and I’m stuck trying to recall it two days later.
Because I’m using an iPod Touch, there are a few functionalities that I’m limited from using. Geo-tagging, for one, which can be very useful. For example, if you always have the same type of meeting at a particular spot, you can tag that location, and everytime you’re in there for a meeting, you can call up that tag and see previous meeting notes.
Similarly, if there’s something that needs to be done at a particular store, you can geo-tag it and when you’re in the vicinity, use that to remind you.
Still not convinced? Check out Evernote’s short introduction video. You’ll be sold.
Tomorrow, I’ve got another post lined up with some thoughts on the lessons that can be learned from Evernote, so if you’re a fan, check back for that. Meanwhile, how do you use Evernote? What tips and tricks do you have?
